8 Games / 8 Moments

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This season just continues to dazzle us with phenomenal tries and brutal big hits. In fact, our producers at NRL.com just can't get enough of them...<br><br>So much so that they've knocked up a brand new feature which pin-points the most influential plays in every game... the turning points or match-winning moments.<br><br>So we hope you enjoy our new 'Plays of the Round' weekly feature. Check out the Round 16 feature below. Did we get it right? Would have you chosen differently?<br><br>Let us know on Facebook by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nationalrugbyleague" target="_blank">clicking here.</a><b><br><br>Dragons 34 def Wests Tigers 10</b><br>The moment: Don’t be fooled by the competition pacesetter’s 24-point winning margin; with Chris Lawrence, Wade McKinnon and Lote Tuqiri all cutting loose the Wests Tigers were in this near top-of-the-table clash up to their whiskers. They may even have wrested the ascendancy heading to halftime had Tuqiri not been mown down and forced over the sideline by diminutive Dragons winger Jason Nightingale when trailing 8-4 in the 32nd minute. Tuqiri was put into space at speed on his 30-metre line and looked likely to sprint down the left touchline to score before a diving Nightingale tackled him into touch 1970s-style. It was the defining play – a few minutes later Kyle Stanley crossed, Jamie Soward converted from the left touchline and the Dragons went to Oranges up 14-4.<br><br><a href="http://www.nrl.com/gameAnalyser/tabId/10910/default.aspx?seasonID=240?seasonid=240&amp;roundid=852&amp;fixtureid=50020101601&amp;videoquality=1&amp;type=try&amp;period=1&amp;time=1806" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out the lead up to this play on our Game Analyser.</a><br><br><b>Panthers 40 def Sea Eagles 22</b><br>The moment: Panthers centre Michael Jennings defied NSW selectors to not pick him in the side for Game Three on Wednesday week with a superlative three-try performance that mixed speed with guile, creativity and skill. The Sea Eagles had no answer to Jennings’ explosive acceleration, best evidenced by his third four-pointer with nine minutes remaining: the No.3 received a cut-out ball 45 metres out from the Sea Eagles’ line, then dodged left around Dean Whare and Anthony Watmough courtesy of a quickstep in-and-away. With supports inside and out and the cover defence converging, he drew opposition winger Tony Williams, body-swerved infield and lofted a no-look pass wide to team-mate Brad Tighe. The winger drew last defender Ben Farrar then offloaded back to Jennings. Try time (again)! &nbsp;<br><br><a href="http://www.nrl.com/gameAnalyser/tabId/10910/default.aspx?seasonID=240?seasonid=240&amp;roundid=852&amp;fixtureid=50020101602&amp;videoquality=1&amp;type=linebreak&amp;period=2&amp;time=2191" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out this moment on our Game Analyser.</a><br><br><b>Broncos 10 def Eels 6</b><br>The moment: Eels fullback Jarryd Hayne towers an imposing 188cm. Rookie fill-in five-eighth Tom Humble stands at 183cm. Broncos halfback Peter Wallace? By comparison, a Lilliputian 177cm. So how must beleaguered Parramatta coach Daniel Anderson have felt seeing Wallace outleap his duo to capture a Darren Lockyer cross-field bomb and crucially open the scoring next to the posts in just the sixth minute? Sick is our bet. The home side never recovered from this calamity.<br><br><a href="http://www.nrl.com/gameAnalyser/tabId/10910/default.aspx?seasonID=240?seasonid=240&amp;roundid=852&amp;fixtureid=50020101603&amp;videoquality=1&amp;type=try&amp;period=1&amp;time=380" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out this moment on our Game Analyser.</a><br><br><b>Sharks 20 def Cowboys 19</b><br>The moment: Sharks hooker John Morris and five-eighth Trent Barrett each kicked pressure field goals to stamp the biggest comeback in Cronulla’s 43-year history, but it was Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston’s inexplicable missed penalty goal attempt that was the scene stealer. With the Cowboys gifted a dubious penalty for a strip on back-rower Willie Mason with just seconds remaining in the first stanza of golden-point extra time, all Thurston had to do was pilot the pill over from 30 metres out, straight in front, to bank the two competition points. But the usually reliable Kangaroos goal-kicker – up to that moment he’d booted at 91 per cent accuracy in 2010 – hooked it left of the sticks. Two minutes later the Sharks were unlikely victors.<br><br><a href="http://www.nrl.com/gameAnalyser/tabId/10910/default.aspx?seasonID=240?seasonid=240&amp;roundid=852&amp;fixtureid=50020101604&amp;videoquality=2&amp;type=penaltyconceded&amp;period=3&amp;time=282" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out this moment on our Game Analyser.</a><br><br><b>Rabbitohs 16 def Storm 14</b><br>The moment: Storm winger Justin O’Neill may have butchered a gift four points when spilling a cross-field kick with the line open but his try assist minutes earlier for Greg Inglis to score for a 10-4 lead was an absurd feat of skill. It looked like Rabbitohs winger Nathan Merritt had successfully herded O’Neill over the touchline and blocked an overhead try assist – but in a microsecond-perfect readjustment the Storm rookie managed to backhand the ball around Merritt to Inglis – keeping his left foot in play by mere centimetres. <br><br><a href="http://www.nrl.com/gameAnalyser/tabId/10910/default.aspx?seasonID=240?seasonid=240&amp;roundid=852&amp;fixtureid=50020101605&amp;videoquality=2&amp;type=try&amp;period=2&amp;time=159" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out this moment on our Game Analyser.</a><br><br><b>Knights 24 def Titans 16</b><br>The moment: Titans fullback Preston Campbell may be worth his weight in gold, but when defending on his own line against a rampaging opponent, his weight is a seriously devalued currency. With the game balanced on a knife edge at 12-all three minutes before halftime, the Knights shifted the play wide to the left where 102-kilogram centre Junior Sa’u hit the ball at speed 10 metres out. Campbell had followed the play in cover across from the goal posts, but could do little more than brace himself for impact. Kurt Gidley nailed the conversion and the Knights had a six-point buffer.<br>&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><a href="http://www.nrl.com/gameAnalyser/tabId/10910/default.aspx?seasonID=240?seasonid=240&amp;roundid=852&amp;fixtureid=50020101607&amp;videoquality=2&amp;type=try&amp;period=1&amp;time=2230" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out this moment on our Game Analyser.</a><br><br><b>New Zealand Warriors 20 def Sydney Roosters 18</b><br>The moment: Talk about making every post a winner! With just 45 seconds left on the clock and trailing the Roosters 18-14, Warriors winger Kevin Locke secured his third try for the night and the two competition points for his side with a selfless act of bravery. Fullback Lance Hohaia dribbled a kick through the Roosters’ defensive line near halfway, Locke motored through the centre to put boot to ball and pin his ears back in chase. He then beat Todd Carney and Phil Graham to the Steeden, although the angle and momentum of his dive in the wet saw him slam hip-first into the right upright. Watch it here (thankfully, no NRL players were seriously hurt in the filming of this snippet). Still – ouch! <br><br><a href="http://www.nrl.com/gameAnalyser/tabId/10910/default.aspx?seasonID=240?seasonid=240&amp;roundid=852&amp;fixtureid=50020101606&amp;videoquality=2&amp;type=try&amp;period=2&amp;time=2439" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out this moment on our Game Analyser.</a><br><br><b>Bulldogs 18 def Raiders 10</b><br>The moment: With the Bulldogs racing to an 18-0 lead in even time courtesy of some Ben Barba brilliance (including a 50-metre solo try) and some woeful jumper-grabbing tackle attempts by the home side, it was left to Raiders five-eighth Terry Campese to fire up the Green Machine. From 12 metres out, the dynamic ballplayer threw a 20-metre cutout spiral torpedo pass that landed on the chest of winger Joel Monaghan who strolled over untouched on the left flank. The 23rd-minute play had to be perfect, given Bulldogs winger Steve Turner jumped out of the line licking his lips at an intercept opportunity. It was the sort of try assist that had Campese lauded as the future of the NSW Blues at the beginning of last year. More of this and the calls are sure to start again.<br><br><a href="http://bigpondvideo.com/nrl/275651/rd16-raiders-v-bulldogs-hls/%20" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to check out this moment in our Video Highlights.</a> <br><br>* The views in this article are the authors’ and not necessarily those of the clubs or the NRL.<br>